


A treatise on the “Talented People” universe

by CharleyFoxtrot



Series: Talented People With Interesting Skillsets [4]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen, guidebook
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-26
Updated: 2012-04-26
Packaged: 2017-11-04 09:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/392271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharleyFoxtrot/pseuds/CharleyFoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As usual, you can find me at my tumblr, disease-danger-darkness-silence.tumblr.com.</p></blockquote>





	A treatise on the “Talented People” universe

_A small guide for those who want to play in my sandbox. And myself._

 

When I initially began writing _J. B. Rhine Was Kind of a Dick_ , I didn't really put a whole lot of thought into the world I was building. Slowly it became very evident to me that I was basing those with abilities – referred to as the parapsychic from hereon in, – on Anne McCaffrey's “To Ride Pegasus” and “Pegasus in Flight” books. The entire series (consisting of those two books, an additional third book entitled, “Pegasus in Space,” and then the entire _Tower and Hive_ series as a future-sequel) has a really interesting grasp of what it could mean in a modern world to have extrasensory perception. 

 

Additionally, I took a few concepts from other media: some of the abilities mentioned in John's research don't have a place within Anne McCaffrey's “Talent” universe. I took a few ideas from the _Heroes_ universe, and a few other concepts from _Doctor Who_ and _Torchwood_. The concept of building a shield in one's mind is briefly touched upon in the Talent world, but I mercilessly stole the whole idea from a plethora of _Harry Potter_ fanfic.

 

I've made this as a sort of guide to the world. It's by no means complete and is a sort of work-in-progress, and obviously I expect anyone who wants to play here (myself included) to exercise a great deal of artistic license. I felt the need to get it out, commit it to paper for my own mental reference (I've a fabulous memory but it's not exactly a mind palace; I need to write things down to remember them properly) and in the process I realized I could offer it as a sort of reference or glossary sheet. I hope it helps, although you're free to ignore it all in favor of the story.

 

I'd also like to take the time to mention that this last November, Anne McCaffrey herself passed away after complications from a stroke. She was a formidable, intelligent woman (although let's not forget the faults as well: she had some really _bizarre_ views on homosexuality and feminism) and her work defined my childhood. I was devastated when I found out she'd died. This isn't exactly fanfiction of her work, but I'd still like to take the time to make a nod in her general direction: Were it not for her I definitely wouldn't be able to string a sentence together. So do consider going to take a look at some of her work; It's the only way she'll ever be able to achieve immortality. 

 

**TYPES OF PARAPSYCHIC ABILITIES**

 

 **Empathy** – Empathy is anything involving emotions belonging to other beings, on a psychic level. Many empaths are also mildly telepathic as well; some research indicates that empathy is actually a _form_ of telepathy rather than it's own subset within the field of parapsychic research.

There's no description in the Talent universe of empathy being specifically as I've described it here, and I suspect that Greg Lestrade actually _has_ synaesthesia, which would affect his empathy as well. There are several different kinds of empaths in the world:

  * _Receiving empaths_ – These are people like Lestrade, who can feel the emotions of people other than themselves. They can feel but that's about it, although it's still a useful tool.
  * _Broadcasting empaths_ – Mycroft Holmes is a powerful broadcasting empath. A broadcasting empath is a person who maybe doesn't feel the emotions of those around him, but can control those emotions. Many broadcasting empaths are also receiving empaths; Mycroft is _not_. Broadcast empathy borders on mind control and makes many people very nervous, for obvious reasons.
  * _Matchmakers_ – This isn't too clearly defined in my story and I'm not sure I'll ever go into it, but I did mention it at one point. These are people who can sense romantic compatibility. It's a very specific form of receiving empathy that only really registers this type of emotion. Many people who consider themselves matchmakers also have Lestrade's form of visual synaesthesia and see compatible people in a similar color, or connected by a line of color. Sherlock and John don't know it, but Mrs. Hudson is a matchmaker. She's patently un-psychic in every other way and her abilities will likely never grow beyond this ability. Many matchmakers can also see those who would make excellent best friends, but tend to stick with the romance aspect of it.



 

 **Telekinesis** – Telekinesis is the ability to affect the movement of matter purely through the efforts of the mind.

We only find out at the very end of the story that John has a form of telekinesis. In his case he's very good at lifting or stopping the movement of things with small amounts of mass – such as bullets. This is ONLY because he's untrained – John's potential is immense; were this Anne McCaffrey's universe he likely would have been trained to be a Prime from a young age. If I do a sequel this will be explained with the addition of the gestalt technology Mycroft makes note of at the end of the story.

There are several variations of kinetic, although like with precogs there are several individuals who have affinities with specific kinds of mass (Magneto from the X-Men would be a kinetic with a metal affinity; that guy from Heroes who can create earthquakes would be a kinetic with an earth-based affinity).

  * _Primes/macrokinetics_ – these are people who can move large amounts and tap into electrical sources to power their abilities. They can eventually be trained to teleport near-instantaneously.
  * _Floaters_ – Those who have middle-range telekinetic ability. They can teleport over very small distances and lift small loads (think like a small U-haul truck or less full of random stuff), but they lack the ability to tap into electrical sources and use gestalt. This is generally because they're tone-deaf; those who use gestalt technology must have a general sense of pitch because of the way the brain makes use of ranges of energy.
  * _Microkinetics_ – The microkinetic can change matter at a microscopic level. This includes genetic manipulation and healing. I mentioned healers in my story: this is them, although I extrapolated the ability from Heroes. Many microkinetics don't have much control over their abilities and often don't even realize they're using them. You'll find a lot of microkinetics in the health and sciences fields, although there are an equal amount in the bored housewives arena (for reasons no one has ever really been able to pinpoint).



 

 **Telepathy** – Telepathy is the ability to hear thoughts or internal/mental speech. 

Telepathy is quite common, although often people within the parapsychic community often don't realize they have it until they have need of it. Most of the parapsychic can train themselves into receiving and broadcasting speech on a telepathic band, but true telepathy is effortless and natural.

Telepaths, like most psychics, have the ability to build a wall up to keep other people's thoughts out of their heads and protect them from mental assault. I completely stole this idea (as well as the idea of being able to gain control of other people's bodies) from various Harry Potter fanfics, but I think it's logical within the framework of the world I've accidentally created. If Mycroft knew that John could control people's bodies he'd probably have him locked up for a very long time. It's a dangerous ability, much more so than Mycroft's own.

When two psychics bond, if they're aware of it, they will have near-instantaneous telepathy between the two of them; additional practice can let the two bonded psychics include other people in the link temporarily. The scope of the bond is proportional to the strength of the two people involved in it: both John and Sherlock are very, _very_ strong psychics. If John stayed in London and Sherlock went to New Zealand (which is the closest land mass to London's antipode) they would likely still be able to talk; with the addition of gestalt, they'd probably be able to exchange information from the Moon and back.

  * _Receiving telepaths_ – A receiving telepath can only hear other people's thoughts or words; they cannot send out their own. In many cases this is because of a mental block; if said mental block is destroyed they often can train themselves to do both. This is, unfortunately, very difficult because there aren't many parapsychic psychologists.
  * _Broadcasting telepaths_ – Obviously, a broadcasting telepath can send out their thoughts, even into the minds of the non-psychic. Strong enough broadcasting telepaths can do what John did in my story and take control of people's bodies. Most broadcasting telepaths are also receiving telepaths.
  * _Talkers_ – This is never mentioned in my story but it is mentioned in Pegasus in Flight. A talker is someone with a low-level cross between receiving empathy and receiving telepathy. Talkers tap into the language portion of a person's brain, making them fluent in the speech of those surrounding them. They generally have excellent memories, as well, retaining that language for years after accessing it. Many talkers don't even realize they have a gift, merely believing themselves to have a flair for languages. Sherlock doesn't realize it, but he's a talker; John is as well, by proxy.



 

 **Precognition** – Precognition is the ability to see into the future.

As I use it here, Sally Donovan has no idea how to control her abilities and regards it as something of a curse. Through great practice she is eventually able to control the ability, and occasionally change the future.

The issue with precognitive abilities is that the future isn't set in stone (no matter how much Sally believes it is); what a precog see's may never come to fruition because of the way time works. 

Some precogs have a general ability, like Sally's; some have certain things they are sensitive to, such as the darker side of life, children, women, water, flight, war. Some are never able to further the skill, and some are able to hone it down to a science. Some people require aids, like crystal balls and tarot cards; some people can only dream the future. Some people can control it to the point where they always know what's coming. Lestrade has some very minor precognitive talent, which he inherited from his mother, but requires the use of her tarot cards to access it.

The opposite of precognition would probably be a past-clairvoyant, which I described Lestrade's sister as being.

 

 **Clairvoyance** – Clairvoyance is probably the most difficult ability to explain, because it's the one with the widest range of abilities, broken into several categories. At the most basic, it's someone who has the ability to get information from a physical object rather than another mind, at a psychic level. This can involve several senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch, feel. It has several applications:

  * _Finders_ – Sherlock, as I stated in the story, is a finder. A finder is someone who can find something or someone. Sherlock began learning inductive reasoning as a means to refine his talent, and thus he dismisses it entirely at times. He doesn't realize exactly how powerful he is; many finders can only find certain types of things, like lost items or lost children or lost jewelry. Sherlock can “see” anything that's lost; his issue lay with narrowing down where it is.
  * _Past-seers_ – A past-seer is someone who can stand in a spot and know what happened there previously, or touch an item or a person and see it's past. The scope of this varies from person to person; Lestrade's sister is a very powerful past-seer. She should probably never meet Sherlock. They'd hate each other.
  * _Present-seers_ – A present seer is similar to a finder. The difference is that a present-seer can direct their thoughts to see what is happening now, generally based on geographic coordinates or knowing someone who's in the room. Occasionally they can also do so by touching something in a room, thus allowing them to “revisit” it. This ability is also known as “remote viewing.” Many governments who choose to use the parapsychic employ present-seers as spies. Anthea is a present-seer, although this may or may not ever come up in fic.
  * _Mediums_ – These are the psychics of old, those who can speak with the deceased. Many mediums wind up becoming alcoholics or drug addicts fairly early on, as they often do not realize what it is that they're seeing. It is rare to find a medium who hasn't allowed themselves to become addicted to something; addictive personality comes with the gift, it seems.



Most clairvoyants are also telepathic, although they probably don't realize it. 

 

**OTHER TERMS TO KNOW**

 

 **Gestalt** – Within the parapsychic research field (of this world and that of Anne McCaffrey's), gestalt refers to the ability that many psychics have to tap into electrical sources to power and supercharge their abilities. A telekinetic might be able to lift one ton with his telekinesis normally, but using gestalt techniques and a large enough generator could lift several thousand tons while burning the same calories. Most psychics who aren't tone deaf (research is still ongoing but there's a marked relationship between tone-deafness and a total inability to use gestalt technique) are able to enhance their abilities this way; a telepath could talk farther, a telekinetic teleport more items farther away, an empath could feel more emotions at a greater distance, a finder could find farther afield. Mycroft only just recently began authorizing research on the subject. 

 

 **Synaesthesia** – Synaesthesia is a real-world condition where senses sort of cross. I, myself, have an aural synaesthesia; certain sounds are a certain color. I literally _see_ certain colors for certain sounds (although not all sounds; I find that strange). Many other people see certain letters or words as certain colors, or taste various textures. It's an interesting condition, and one that I believe Greg Lestrade has as far as his empathy goes. Most empaths do _not_ taste/smell/see colors when they're using their gift. 

 

 **Bond** – Two psychics can form a psychic bond. It allows for ease of telekinesis, shared psychic abilities, and is often romantic in nature. Many non-telepath psychics never even realize a bond has been formed.

 

 **Salvia Divinorum** – Also known as diviner's sage or seer's sage. Salvia has been around for freaking YEARS and was used for hundreds of years in Mexico by shamans. It is purported to open up the third eye, which is patently ridiculous. It does induce fairly severe hallucinations at times, and in this world is known to temporarily stoke psychic ability. It is legal in several countries, including the UK and the US.

 

 **LSD** – LSD is also known as “acid.” It is another drug that stokes psychic ability, although it is illegal in most countries. Sherlock would love to reproduce the psychic experiment with LSD, but he knows that no one else would agree to take the drug. This deeply annoys him.

 

 

 

 

I plan on adding to this as things occur to me to add. If you have any questions about the world, feel free to get hold of me on AO3 and I can answer it (and add it to this beast).

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, you can find me at my tumblr, disease-danger-darkness-silence.tumblr.com.


End file.
